Larry Shenk, Vice President of Alumni Relations, shares his notes, quotes and anecdotes from the world of baseball.

We're in LA

Kind of a crazy game yesterday. Two out, no one on base and we wind up with four in the second. Another 4-spot in the next inning put us in the driver’s seat.

And, we won without hitting a home run in our “bandbox” as the media likes to call Citizens Bank Park. The park got a new description in the Pasadena Star this morning, “quirky.” Explanation, Dodgers have hit two balls to the deepest part of the quirky place and have only a 1-run double to show.

Hey, Manny did his thing to make it close with a ball that just landed in the first row of the left field seats. Andre Ethier in his blog after game 1 described Utley’s 2-run homer as a pop up. He didn’t describe Manny’s homer in his blog today.

Can’t say enough about the bullpen, especially Mad Dog Madson and “Lights Out” Lidge. They have been simply outstanding. Speaking of outstanding, how about the fan support and noise.

Here’s another testimony of the fans’ support. Game 1 rating in Philly was 23.9 with a 35 share. In LA, the numbers were 9.4 and 18.

Robin’s NestHall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts offers his insight into Game 2:“Not exactly a pitcher’s game but we came out on top. Brett didn’t seem to have his good fast ball. But, he hung in there and had some key strikeouts on curves. How about his hitting? A pitcher who can hit can really help himself and the team.

“Manny surely is a scary hitter. He can look bad on a certain pitch and then kill the same-type of pitch with his next swing. He is a good hitter, I mean a good hitter. Glad I don’t have to face him.

“Shane is having a great playoff. He runs, hits and fields, which covers most all of the game.

“My deepest sympathy to Charlie, Shane and their families. I’m praying for them.”

Westward We WentBoth teams left on charter flights following the game. The Dodgers arrived first at the LA airport.

We flew on a Delta 767, 280 total passengers. The cross-country trip of 2,383 miles had us landing at 4:02 a.m., Philly time. By the time we got to the hotel and the luggage was delivered to the room, it was lights out at 6:36 a.m., again Philly time. A long day but the win didn’t make it seem long.

Charlie and Shane were both on the flight. Funeral details on Charlie’s mother and Shane’s grandfather are forthcoming. Ken Mandel will cover details on this site.

As Robbie said, condolences to both families. The playoffs are very emotion-packed under normal circumstances. Both Charlie and Shane will make it through because the Phillies family is a very supportive and caring family.

Jenn, a frequent commenter on this blog, pointed out we have two angels watching over us now.

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